Quasi-Public Agencies (posted December 30, 1999)
Is the recent credit card scandal at the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation idiosyncratic to that agency or is it the tip of a much bigger iceberg? That question is on the minds of Rhode Islanders as the General Assembly begins its legislative session next week. Press reports that EDC officials (now dubbed the Eating and Drinking Corporation by radio talk show host Arlene Violet) placed personal expenses, meals, and beverages on their state credit cards have led to the resignation of ECD director John Swen and an official investigation by legislative leaders.
What needs to be examined now is how common these and other kinds of practices are at quasi-public agencies around the state. Formed by a number of public officials over the past few decades, these agencies lie at the heart of state government. They are where the big money and big contracts flow. Lodged halfway between state government and the private sector, these agencies have attracted little oversight and little publicity, except when blatant misdeeds come to light. It is time to look more carefully at what these agencies do.